


Confessions

by good_mythical_miles



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Kissing, Language, M/M, Sex Talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-27 00:56:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5027476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/good_mythical_miles/pseuds/good_mythical_miles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Link struggles to keep his emotions at bay. <br/>(Inspired by GMM #461's wheel ending.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Confessions

Link was getting tired. Not physically, but mentally. His secret was weighing on him. And this wasn’t just some average, run-of-the-mill secret. This was a secret that, if it were to be revealed, could potentially destroy everything he worked towards in life. He leaned over his desk and let out a long sigh, resting his head in his hands. It was almost time to film the next episode of Good Mythical Morning, and Link was attempting to clear his mind so he wouldn’t give off any weird vibes on camera.

Rhett walked into the room and roughly patted his friend on the back as a non-verbal greeting, before sitting at his desk directly across from Link’s. “You looking forward to filming?” he asked. Link merely shrugged. “Come on, dude! We get to relive our yo-yo days!”

Link’s heart skipped a beat and he looked up with a grin. With all the stuff on his mind, he had completely forgotten about the day’s plans. “That’s right! Thank God. I need something to get my mind off of everything.”

“Everything?” Rhett questioned.

Shit. Link had let his friend know that something was wrong. “Oh, it’s no big deal. I’m just stressed,” he said, not lying in the slightest.

“Stressed about what?”

“Just family stuff.” This was still technically not a lie, either. If his secret were to come into the light, it could break apart his family.

“Is everything okay between you and Christy?”

“Oh, yeah. Completely. We’re fine. Let’s just go.” Link stood from his desk abruptly and patted his friend on the shoulder before walking out of the room.

The topic of the episode did just as Link had hoped. He hadn’t thought about anything serious for ten whole minutes, which, despite being an incredibly short period of time, felt like ages. The two men were once again sitting at the desk in front of the camera after showing off their newly invented yo-yo tricks. As the wheel was spinning behind them, Rhett and Link announced the new Saturday morning videos that would be appearing on their channel. When the wheel stopped spinning, Link continued to stare into the camera.

Rhett read the ending out for everyone. “Link confesses his undying love…for Link.” The taller man went silent, eagerly waiting to see where Link would go with this improvisation.

Link’s entire body went numb. His mind was distant. All he had heard was, “Link confesses his undying love.”

Depending on what he decided to say, his secret could be revealed. His mind was racing a mile a minute. What was he going to say!? If he was silent for too much longer, everyone watching would start getting suspicious, so he had to just let his ideas flow. He would think about what to say as he went along. “Rhett…”

“Yeah!”

“Um…” He paused to grab hold of the yo-yo that was currently sitting in front of him. “You know, there’s something about…playing with yo-yo’s…and being in this environment, kinda going back to a younger age, that’s really made me feel very vulnerable.” Rhett glanced over to his friend, blissfully unaware of what was going through his mind. As Rhett was goofing around with the double-stringed yo-yo in front of him, Link shut his eyes before repeating,  _“I feel really vulnerable.”_

“Well, why don’t you confess something?” Rhett asked, placing the toy back on top of the desk. He was no longer smiling.

Link thought for a moment that Rhett already knew exactly what it was that he had been keeping from him, but knew that this couldn’t have been the case. Sure, the fans liked to believe there was something romantic going on, but he knew for certain that Rhett hadn’t felt those emotions towards him. Link’s heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. “Well, exactly,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “I feel, uh, like I could confess something—”

“—that otherwise I would never say, and that’s…” He sucked in some air, trying to prepare himself for what was about to come out of his mouth. He knew that in this particular situation, if he had said he loved Rhett, it would be taken as a joke. Well, at least in the office building. Depending on his friend’s reaction, he could decide where to go with it later that afternoon. Should he say he loved Rhett, or strictly follow along with the prompt?

“Alright,” Rhett told him with a slight nod, as if it was meant to be a reassurance to Link that he was in a safe environment. Was this still acting?

“Okay,” he mumbled.

“This better be good,” Rhett said, looking down at the yo-yo once more.

Link sighed. “I…am in love…” Link slowly raised his head to stare into the camera. Rhett’s eyes grew wide. It was obvious to the taller man that his friend was not, in fact, acting, but being completely sincere. He could have been talking about anybody…

“Maybe this is some weird way of communicating to Christy. He did say he was stressed out about family stuff,” Rhett thought to himself.

Link, on the other hand, thought that Rhett was still playing along with the joke. After an excruciatingly long silence, Link finished his sentence, playing it safe. “with… _me.”_  He said the last word very quietly. Rhett looked over at the man, eyebrows raised. “I love myself,” Link said, confidence growing. This was his chance. He needed to be subtle, though. “You know, if… If anyone…”

“I think that’s important, though,” Rhett interrupted.

“If anyone,” Link repeated, his volume rising, “else wants to love me too, they can!” He rushed this sentence out as fast as possible.

“Well,” Rhett began, but didn’t say anything else.

Link felt like he was drowning. The room was too quiet. He shouldn’t have said a word. Trying to save himself, he continued, “But, I do love myself, and I’m fine with that.” He could hear Rhett saying something to his right, but wasn’t focused on the words. He was just trying to calm himself down. With a sigh, he breathed, “Aaah, I feel so much better now,” and he wasn’t kidding. He nodded and said,  _“I love me.”_  Although he was smiling, he wasn’t convinced that he accepted himself. Being raised in a redneck community definitely instilled some fundamental beliefs in him that he was growing away from. He knew that those beliefs were wrong, but he couldn’t help but feel disgusting thinking about Rhett the way he had been.

The main episode ended, but they still had to get through Good Mythical More. Link was able to fly through those seven minutes easily, and was extremely relieved when the interns announced that they were done for the day. He stood up from the desk and stretched out his arms, moaning softly.

“Dude, can I talk to you in the other room?” Rhett whispered so that only his friend could hear.

Once again, Link was beyond terrified. “Uh, why?” His voice was barely audible.

“I think you know why.” Between the deep baritone of Rhett’s voice and his tall stature looming above him, Link was beyond intimidated. He was sure he was about to get reprimanded. When Link kept his mouth shut, Rhett grasped onto his wrist firmly and dragged him into their office. Link was sweating. What was Rhett going to do with him?

“Rhett, I—“

“Sit down, Link.” He did as he was told, and Rhett was still hovering over him, even more intimidating now. “What the hell was that?”

“What do you—“

“Fuck, man. Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about! Why would you say that?”

“I… I was just going along with the prompt,” Link muttered, his voice shaky.

“Link, man, that was not cool.”

“Rhett, I just…” His sentence trailed off as he started to fight back tears that were welling in his eyes.

Rhett’s attitude changed noticeably. In a softer tone, he said, “Link, why did you say that?”

“I’m sure you know, judging on how angry you are.”

“I know that I’ve used our show to talk to Jessie in the past, but if you and Christy are going through some shit, that’s between the two of you. It’s not something you should be broadcasting to the world.”

Link’s head snapped upwards and he made eye contact with his friend. He didn’t know what he was referring to after all… “Oh my God,” Link sighed, brushing his bangs to the side. He took his glasses off for a moment to wipe his eyes.

“Come on, buddy, please talk to me. Everything’s okay at home, right?”

“Rhett, I already told you. Everything is fine between Christy and I.”

“Then what the hell was that whole confession about? Because it sure as hell wasn’t a joke. That was getting really intense.”

“I don’t know if I should tell you,” Link whispered, looking down at his feet.

“You can trust me. You know that.”

“Well, yeah, but… This is serious, man. Like,  _really_ serious.”

“I already figured that out.”

“I can’t. I was about to say everything out there, but I can’t. I just can’t. I’m sorry, Rhett. Let’s go.”

Link started to stand, but Rhett placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him down. “God dammit, Link. Fucking talk to me! You’ve been acting weird.”

“I can’t tell you because it has to do with you.”

“Link, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Just tell me.”

Link had had enough of the poking and prodding. He exploded. “You want to know what’s going on!? I’m freaking out, Rhett! I’m in love! I’m in love with Christy, but I’m also in love with you! But if anyone knew, it’d ruin everything!” He paused to take a breath. “It’d ruin everything,” he sighed, letting out a tiny whimper.

“Oh,” was all Rhett could say. “You mean…”

“I mean I really fucking love you, Rhett. I’ve always loved you, but recently, I just… It’s gotten… I mean… When we’re here super early and the early morning light shines on your face… It’s so fucking beautiful.”

Rhett took a cautious step back. “Whoa, there, buddy. Slow it down.”

“I knew that’s how you’d react. That’s why I wasn’t going to say anything. I guess GMM is over now, huh? We’re no longer friends. You never want to look at me again. I’m disgusting. I’m a traitor. I’m emotionally cheating on my wife. I guess I’m gay now or something. Everyone at home is going to hate me. My kids are going to be disappointed. My life is over. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Dude, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“Just let me go home and talk to Christy.”

“No. You aren’t going anywhere. We’re talking this out.”

“There’s nothing to talk out, Rhett. It’s over. I’m done. I can’t deal with this.” Link was exhausted with the day’s rollercoaster of emotions. They were going up and down just like his yo-yo.

Rhett dragged his chair from his desk so it was next to Link’s. He sat down and placed his hands on his friend’s knees. “Link, you’re no different than you were an hour ago. You’re the same Link that I’ve known since 1st grade. And if anybody doesn’t realize that, then you don’t need them.”

Link burst into tears without warning. Rhett took his friend’s glasses off and placed them on the desk. “Rhett, I’ve been having dreams. Horrible dreams. About us.”

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve had those dreams, too. I think everybody has those dreams.”

“You don’t get it, Rhett. I mean, really raunchy stuff was going down. And you know how I talk in my sleep… I’m constantly worried about waking Christy up and moaning your name or something.” Link’s voice was cracking and Rhett could barely hear a word the man said.

Rhett took a moment to figure out what the right thing to say would be. “You know… I hate seeing you so upset.”

Link sniffled and wiped his wet face with his sleeve. “I don’t know what to do, Rhett.”

“Just relax, man.” He brushed a tear away from his friend’s cheek. “I don’t give a fuck if you’re gay. Even if you’re not gay and these are just some weird feelings, I don’t care. You’re just Link. You know everyone questions their sexuality at one point. Usually it’s when they’re teenagers, but you never know… That might be what’s happening now,” Rhett chuckled.

Link shook his head, clearly not amused. “I’ve felt like this for years. I just never wanted to admit it to myself, especially not when we were back in North Carolina. Being in LA has really changed things.”

“I get it. It’s a different world out here.” Rhett began rubbing circles on Link’s knee with his thumb.

“Um… Rhett? You’re being weird,” he mumbled. Rhett retracted his hands.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” The room was silent for a while, before Link asked, “What are we going to do now?”

“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”

Link shrugged.

“I can go grab our yo-yo’s and we can be stupid some more,” Rhett suggested, smiling slightly with one eyebrow raised.

“I’d like that,” he laughed, beginning to cheer up.

The two friends were standing in their shared office adding to their long list of ridiculous, immature yo-yo tricks. Once more, Link forgot about everything that was going on in his mind. From his peripheral vision, he caught Rhett looking at him funny. Link knew it was just his friend trying to process everything he had just learned.

Link was wrong.

This time, it was Rhett’s mind that was racing, and Link’s that was blissfully unaware of the thoughts popping up. Rhett was suddenly noticing things about his friend that he never had before. Link’s jaw was—he looked really good in—what the hell was going on?

“Come on, Rhett. You’re freaking me out.” This comment snapped Rhett out of his trance. He shook his head as if to expel the strange thoughts from his mind.

“Link…”

“I told you, Rhett. I don’t want to talk about anything serious anymore. I’m sorry I ever brought it up.”

“No, Link. I…”

“RHETT! Quit it!”

The taller man shrugged. “Alright, fine. I’m just going to go grab a Diet Coke. Be right back.” Link nodded as Rhett walked past him towards the door.

Alone in the kitchenette, Rhett was quickly trying to gain control of his mind—to figure out what the hell was happening in there. Rhett opened the fridge and retrieved his soda. He opened it and took a long drink. He was probably just thinking like this because of what Link had admitted. It was probably just his subconscious trying to relate to his friend…right? No. This was different. He had had these thoughts before. When he told Link that everyone questioned their sexuality at some point, he was mostly referring to himself. There was a time in high school where Rhett began admiring Link in the locker rooms before and after gym class. He knew a couple of the other boys began to notice, so he convinced himself it was nothing. But now, years later, he was beginning to think that the repressed feelings were beginning to come to the surface.

Suddenly, Link appeared in the doorway, still swinging his yo-yo in his signature “around the world” move. “Hey, man. Why haven’t you come back yet?”

“Link, I really need to talk to you. I think… I think I know how you feel.”

“What the hell, man? Don’t.”

“No, I’m serious. Back in high school… Back in gym class… You just… I thought you were attractive.”

Link dropped his yo-yo, his face growing stern. “Rhett, I swear to God, if you’re playing…”

“No, Link. No.” He sighed. “Come here.”

“Rhett…”

“Please. Please come here.” He reached out his arms for Link, who slowly approached him. Rhett pulled his friend into a gentle embrace.

“What are you saying, Rhett?” Link asked cautiously.

“I’m saying I think I feel the same way.”

“No you don’t.”

“An hour ago I would have agreed. But I’ve been thinking.”

“You’re just psyching yourself out,” Link said, stepping back.

“Nah, man.”

The two friends stared at the floor in an awkward silence. “Are you sure?” Link breathed. Rhett slowly nodded. “Can… Can I kiss you?”

The taller man raised his head to make eye contact. “I guess you can. Once won’t hurt.”

Link approached him at an excruciatingly slow pace. When he reached the man, he brought his trembling hands up to Rhett’s shoulders. In response, Rhett placed his hands carefully around Link’s waist. “I’ve never kissed a guy before,” Link mumbled.

“Well, shit. Neither have I. Just do it.”

“Are you sure?”

Rhett nodded and leaned down towards his friend’s face. Their lips gently touched. It was a shock to the senses for both of them, but after a brief moment, everything felt right. Their mouths were moving together in perfect unison. Rhett’s beard scratching against Link’s clean-shaven face was tickling him. Link was in heaven. He had been having dreams like this for weeks, and now it was actually happening.

Rhett broke the kiss first, and when he did, he ran a hand through Link’s hair. “Wow,” he sighed.

“Yeah. Wow,” Link agreed. Rhett wrapped his arms around him once again, bringing him into a hug just like earlier. Link’s eyes closed again, the sensation of his friend’s chest slowly rising and falling with each breath and the sound of his heartbeat were both extremely soothing. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

“Don’t be.”

“Well, I am. This should never have happened.”

“I’m glad it did.”

“I’m not.”

“Why?” Rhett asked, trailing his hands down Link’s back. He gave him a gentle squeeze before holding onto his hip bones.

Link stepped back and hid his face in his palms. “Because now…now I want more.” Rhett let out a boisterous laugh. “Don’t, man. I’m not joking. I’m being honest.”

“No, I know. I mean… I guess we…”

“Don’t, Rhett. Just don’t.”

“Link—”

“We can’t do this. We just can’t. We have families.”

“I know. I agree. But… What do you say we go all out just once?”

“Do you mean…”

“Yeah. I mean exactly what you think I mean.”

“Just once?”

“Yes. Just once. We’ll see how that goes. If it feels right, if it feels like it was meant to be or some cheesy bullshit like that, then we’ll go from there.”

“So, you’re suggesting we just do a little test, and if it sucks, then we pretend it never happened? And if it’s amazing, we talk about making it… _something?”_

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Link nodded, deep in thought. “When would we do it? We really need to sit down and think this through.”

“Everyone went to lunch.”

“Rhett, we can’t do this right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s a huge deal, and we need to figure everything out.”

“You’re just scared,” Rhett giggled.

“NO!”

“Yes. Admit it. You’re scared.”

Link cracked a small smile. “Okay. Yeah. I’m scared.”

“I’d be scared too, if I were gonna get this massive thing shoved up my ass,” Rhett said suggestively, grabbing at his crotch.

Link’s eyes widened. “Um, Rhett… I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…”

“Scaredy cat.”

“Rhett—“

“We agreed we were going to go all out.”

Link sighed and sat down at the small table near him. “I mean… I guess we could… But…”

“Hey, I was just kidding. If you don’t want to do it, it’s fine.”

“No. I want to. I just… Just be careful, yeah?”

“What? Of course! I’m just as scared as you, buddy.”

“No you aren’t, asshole,” Link giggled. Rhett pulled out his phone and began googling something. “Dude, what are you doing?”

After a moment, he put his phone down on the counter. “Do we have vegetable oil here?”

Link was beyond confused. “Why are you talking about cooking all of a sudden?”

Rhett chuckled. “Just googled something. Vegetable oil makes a good lube.”

Link’s eyes widened. He thought they were about to pop out of his head. “Are we really going to do this?”

“I think so.”

Link bit his lip and smiled. “I think so, too.” He was already getting that familiar warm, fuzzy feeling.

“Everything will be okay, little buddy,” Rhett promised. “No matter what happens, I love you.”

Link nodded slowly, biting his lips. “Okay.” He was ready. He had gone through a lot that morning—his emotions were all over the place—but overall, he was glad he had confessed his true feelings to his lifelong best friend. And hopefully, what Rhett had said about loving him no matter what was the complete truth. He obviously had his what-ifs (he always did), but deep down, he knew they would be together forever, whether it was as friends or more.


End file.
